"Our first year of naming storms proved that it worked, and we were
thrilled with the result which was an ideal demonstration of the
intersection of social media and television," said Bryan Norcross,
meteorologist and storm specialist at The Weather Channel. "The winter
storm names enabled simpler and more focused communications around
forecasts and preparedness information on The Weather Channel and in
other media outlets, and during the big storms like Nemo, the names
became a handy way for the public to receive and exchange information."

The storm names for 2013-2014 are derived from lists created by students
at Bozeman High School in Bozeman, MT, as an assignment in Latin class
and are primarily from Greek and Roman mythology.

The storm-naming criteria are based on National Weather Service
thresholds for winter-weather warnings and the storm's expected impacts
on a population center or over a large geographic area. Winter storms
will be named whenever the predicted weather exceeds the naming
criteria. Storms that do not exceed the criteria may also be named, on
occasion, when the impacts are forecast to be especially unusual,
historic, or significant.

The decision to begin naming storms came about as part of The Weather
Channel's program to find the best possible ways to communicate
severe-weather information on all distribution platforms, including
social media. Hashtags are an intrinsic part of social-media
communications, and a storm name proved to be the best way to
efficiently and systematically convey storm information. Storm-name
hashtags have been used with tropical storms and hurricanes for years,
and Winter Storm Nemo's billion-plus impressions on social media last
winter demonstrated that the same system is ideal for winter storms as
well.

Improving communications is a key part of The Weather Channel's core
mission to keep the public safe and informed in severe-weather events.
During the winter months, many people are impacted by freezing
temperatures, flooding, power outages, travel disruptions, and other
impacts caused by snow and ice storms. The storm-naming program raises
awareness and reduces the risks, danger, and confusion for residents in
the storms' paths.

Along with naming storms, during the 2012-2013 winter storm season The
Weather Channel also introduced a new Winter Impact Index called
STORM:CON, a scientific, point-based winter weather index that provides,
on a scale of one to 10, the potential impacts for major U.S. cities in
the path of the storm. To create this index, several factors are
considered, including the forecast of the storm's duration, time of day,
day of the week, how close in time to a previous significant winter
event it occurs, and whether it occurs early or late in the season. The
final index number provides an indication of the impact a winter storm
will have on a particular city.

# # #

The Weather Company: Where the World Gets its Weather

Through The Weather Channel, weather.com,
Weather Underground, Intellicast.com and
third-party publishing partners, the company provides millions of people
every day with the world's best weather forecasts, content and data,
connecting with them through television, online, mobile and
tablet screens. Through WSI and Weather Central, the company delivers
superior professional weather services for the media, aviation, marine
and energy sectors. The Weather Company is owned by a consortium made up
of NBC Universal and the private equity firms The Blackstone Group and
Bain Capital. For more information, visit www.weather.com/press.